Friday, July 31, 2009

Beijing Guoan 0 West Ham 2

West Ham started this game with what looks like nearly their first eleven. The side was Green, Spector, Tomkins, Gabbidon, Ilunga, Dyer, Noble, Parker, Collison, Jimenez and Cole. Upson started on the bench.

Beijing Guoan, on the otherhand, started with what is essentially their reserve side (the first team being rested for a Chinese Super League game on Sunday).

In the first half West Ham looked a little more lively than against Sp#rs but lacked any penetration up front. In the 41st minute Dyer actually managed to put the ball in the back of the net, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

In the second half West Ham looked a little more in control of the game but again didn't look very threatening going forward. West Ham did finally score from a Noble corner. Gabbidon heading home from eight yards in the 79th minute.

In the 93rd minute Hines was played clear. He ran from the halfway line, wide on the right touchline, onto the ball, drove into the penalty area and tucked the ball home low past the out coming keeper from about 10 yards.

Dyer was probably the man of the match. He looks in good form and if he can stay free from injury should hopefully give us a bit more pace pushing forwards this season.

Is Ashton Going to Stoke?

Most of the press are reporting that Stoke are on the verge of signing Dean Ashton. The papers are quite happy to quote Stoke boss, Tony Pulis, saying he is happy to take a punt on a player like Dean Ashton that has been plagued with injuries. Many of the papers however are omitting the part where Pulis reveals that West Ham have not actually agreed to sell Ashton, yet.

"Dean is one of a number of players we have spoken to. Whether we can do the deal, whether we can't, we'll have to wait and see."

Thursday, July 30, 2009

West Ham After Balotelli

It seems that Gianfranco Zola has identified Inter Milan's eighteen year old striker Mario Balotelli as his number one transfer target. Zola has made his desire to sign Balotelli very clear,

"It would be in both our interests if he came to West Ham.

"There's no place for him at Inter and he's a natural talent. He is extroverted and knows his attitude can upset people, but he's intelligent and still learning to handle situations."

The Sun claim that West Ham have offered £8 million for the player.

They don't say however where West Ham suddenly got £8 million from. The newspapers are still full of rumours of Ashton leaving for Stoke. I can't see West Ham coughing up £8 million for a player without Ashton departing first.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

West Ham Signing Swiss Defender

Fabio Daprelà looks set to sign for West Ham from Grasshopper Zurich. The Official website for Grasshopper Zurich say that they have mutually terminated the player's contract and that he is joining West Ham subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms.

Daprelà is an 18 year old defender. He plays in the U-19 Switzerland side and took part in the European Championship finals this year in Ukraine.

Monday, July 27, 2009

West Ham Off to China

A West Ham squad of 23 has arrived in China for the Barclays Asia Trophy. West Ham will face Sp*rs at the Beijing Workers Stadium on Wednesday (11 am UK time). The winners of that game then play the winners of the game between Hull City and Beijng Guoan on Friday.

Valon Behrami, Dean Ashton and Terry Dixon have all remained in England to continue work on their individual fitness programmes.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

West Ham in the Sunday Papers

The News of the World claim that West Ham will demand £15m for Matthew Upson if Manchester City fail to buy John Terry. They say Sp*rs are also after Upson.

The Mirror claim West Ham are 'bracing' themselves for a £15 million bid from Manchester City for Matthew Upson. They also claim Harry Redknapp wants Upson.

The Mirror also say West Ham are lining up a move for Bristol City goalkeeper Adriano Basso after he handed in a transfer request.

The People claim Gudjohnsen is set to quit Barcelona, with West ham the favourites to sign him.

The NoW say Bayer Leverkusen after Faubert

The Daily Star say Stoke expect to seal a £5million move for Dean Ashton early this week. They claim West Ham are showing interest in Bayern Munich's Italian striker Luca Toni and that Gudjohnsen is keeping Zola guessing over a return to English football.

Aston Out and Gudjohnsen In

The Sunday Express say Fulham, Stoke and Hull are all leading the chase to sign Dean Ashton. The paper seem to be inferring that his imminent departure is somehow related to the "anticipated signing of Eidur Gudjohnsen from Barcelona".

Friday, July 24, 2009

Ashton Lobbies For Exit

Most of the papers today are reporting that West Ham left Ashton behind for the Austria trip and are set to do so again for the China trip. The papers seem to be suggesting that Asthon is being frozen out and the club want to sell him.

Noises from inside West Ham are telling another story. These suggest that Zola wanted him in Austria and wants him in China but his agent is angling for a transfer.

Lucas Neill's agent says the player will make a decision about his future in the next 24 hours. There have been reports that Neill is off to Galatasaray.

West Ham continue to be linked with Eidur Gudjohnsen, with some reports suggesting he is close to making a decision.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

West Ham United 1 Bursaspor 1

West Ham opened the scoring in the 4th minute with a goal from Dyer. The goal came from a long ball forward from Collins which was headed down into Dyer's path, who slotted the ball home with his first touch.

West Ham Live Stream

West Ham in for Carroll

The Newcastle Chronicle are reporting that West Ham are interested in signing England Under-19 striker Andy Carroll.

The paper quotes an 'Upton Park source' as saying,

“It’s no secret that West Ham are thin on the ground when it comes to strikers.

“The club finished ninth last season and, while that is a good achievement by most team’s standards, Gianfranco Zola believes it could have been even better had they had more of a threat in front of goal.

“The manager is looking at a range of options and Andy Carroll is included on that list.”

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Nouble Signs

Frank Nouble has signed for West Ham from Chelsea for an undisclosed fee. Nouble passed a medical with West Ham this afternoon before signing a five year contract.

West Ham CEO Scott Duxbury said of the signing,

"I am very pleased to be able to welcome Frank to West Ham where he will have the opportunity to compete for a place in Gianfranco's first-team squad. He has a very bright future and we will give him every chance to succeed. This is an excellent signing for the club.

"I can also assure fans we are concentrating on adding more quality to our attack to complement those we already have. This is an extremely busy time of the year and Gianluca Nani and I are working hard to bring in the players that Gianfranco feels will improve his squad for the new season."

Monday, July 20, 2009

West Ham to Sign Nouble

Sky Sports are reporting that West Ham are set to sign young Chelsea striker Frank Nouble. The 17 year old Nouble declined to sign a professional contract with Chelsea, believing that his first team opportunities would be limited at Stamford Bridge.

Sky say that Nouble "is rated one of the best teenage talents in England" and "is tipped for a big future in the game".

Sir Trevor Brooking Stand

There will be a formal renaming of the stand before the Bobby Moore Cup game against SSC Napolion Saturday 8 August. Sir Trev will be in attendance for the renaming.

Trevor Brooking said of the announcement,

"It is obviously a terrific honour which I am very grateful for because this is my club. It will be my club forever. The great thing was being able to spend my whole career with West Ham, having a stint as caretaker manager and as a director and then going to the FA.

"I still try and get to most of the home games. On my travels, if I am in a cab or something then everyone talks to me about West Ham because they know I am associated with the club. It is something I am only too pleased about whenever it happens. We have a very passionate and loyal support."

Sunday, July 19, 2009

West Ham Takeover Non-Story

The Daily Mirror today are reporting on a possible Asian takeover at West Ham. The paper's 'exclusive' says that Pairoj Piempongsant, the Thai businessman who brokered two takeovers at Manchester City and was involved in the projected acquisition of Portsmouth, is playing a pivotal role in negotiations.

However, The Mirror say that at the moment the two parties are miles apart in their valuation with the group offering £75million and West Ham wanting closer to £125m.

Sounds like old news to me. I'm sure this rumour has been around for quite a while.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Campaign for Justice

We want our money back you thieving Blunts !

West Ham have been cleared by a fresh FA and Premier League inquiry of further wrongdoing in the Carlos Tevez affair.

This latest inquiry looked at the changes to Tevez's contract that allowed the player to play in the final three games of the season. There were accusations that West Ham had not effectively changed the conditions of Tevez's contract for those games, however the club have now been cleared.

"The inquiry has concluded that, on the basis of the evidence available to them, there is no prima facie case that West Ham United and/or its officials did commit any further breaches of Premier League or FA rules immediately after the independent disciplinary commission's decision," the FA and Premier League said.

This statement is very important, as Lord Griffiths put huge weight on this very point in finding against West Ham. Here's what Griffiths' said when he found against West Ham,

"If the Premier League had known what Mr Duxbury for West Ham was saying to Mr Joorabchian's solicitor following the commission decision, we are confident that the Premier League would have suspended Mr Tevez's registration as a West Ham player.

"We have no doubt that those [Tevez's] services were worth at least three points to West Ham over the season and were what made the difference between West Ham remaining in the Premiership and being relegated at the end of the season."

Mancini Still Not Signed

Alan Pardew has become manager of Southampton.

Rumours persist that West Ham are interested in Gudjohnsen, all because Zola answered one question about the striker in an interview, and that Ashton is on his way out, all because he hasn't travelled with the rest of the squad to Austria.

West Ham in Austria

West Ham kick-off their pre-season tour in Austria against SVL Flavia Solva this evening.

Don't expect many of the first team to feature. Steve Clarke said of the game,

"We're not going to play any of the boys who missed the first week of training. It will be a compilation of the players that played at Grays.

Come Saturday the international players that joined us late should be in a position to play 45 minutes so that would be the plan then. We will look to integrate them into the team for 45 minutes alongside the players that will have been there for two weeks."

Ashton Stays Home

Most of the rumours today seem to be about why Dean Ashton has not travelled with the rest of the squad to Austria.

Opinion on the matter seems to be divided, unfortunately for Ashton neither side of the divide seems to favour the West Ham forward. Most seem to think that either Dean is fit and has been left behind because he will soon be leaving the club or that he has picked up another injury and is therefore no longer worth the bother.

There is a rumour that Ashton has told Zola he has to be the first choice up front and that Zola has told him that he has to prove himself. This implies that Ashton has not travelled to Austria because of a rift between him and the management.

The other argument is that Dean is not fit enough to play and has stayed in London to work on an individual fitness regime. Ashton was supposedly more or less fit at the end of the season so the argument here is that he has picked up another injury.

Being an eternal optimist I'm hoping that the club have decided that Ashton is still not quite match fit and, rather than risk him picking up an injury, feel there is more benefit him working on his own programme of fitness.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Sunderland After West Ham Defender

The Daily Mail claim that Sunderland 'plan' / 'have launched' a £5 million bid for West Ham defender James Collins.

The Times say that Sunderland have actually offered about £5million for James Collins, who is also attracting interest from Celtic. The Times claim Sunderland have the option to sign Calum Davenport as well.

Finally The Times report that Bayer Leverkusen are interested in Julien Faubert.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Good Luck John!

Former West Ham striker John Hartson has been diagnosed with brain and testicular cancer. After suffering severe headaches Hartson was told that he had testicular cancer - and that the disease had spread to his brain. The Sun says Hartson will start chemotherapy today.

Good luck John!

The official West Ham blog have today announced the release of the new home kit. Pictures and prices are available here.

Most of the other news concerning West Ham today is in response to Zola's interview yesterday. Many of the papers have taken Zola's refusal to confirm a bid for Eidur Gudjohnsen as a statement that the club is interested in the player.

Friday, July 10, 2009

West Ham TV Coverage

So Sky have announced that West Ham will appear only once in their pre-Christmas coverage of live Premier League football. The game is West Ham vs Arsenal on Sunday, 25th October (4.15pm).

Only West Ham, Wigan Athletic, Hull City and Birmingham City feature only once in this period. I can't believe I've been moaning about Match of the Day's coverage of West Ham, they at least put us on, even if it is normally after the end credits.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Blades to Pay Preston NE £40 Million Comp

Sheffield Utd have responded quickly to the news that their goalkeeper Paddy Kenny tested positive for a banned substance following last season's Championship play-off semi-final second leg against Preston.

The Sheffield team have run a long campaign for justice in football and have long argued that one player can make all the difference in football. The Blades have therefore admitted that fielding a player on drugs in the semi-final effectively cheated Preston of a Championship final place and the chance to win promotion to the English Premier League.

Sheffield Utd say they have no moral option but to pay Preston £40 million in compensation for denying them their rightful place in the Premier League.

Stand Off in Neill Talks

It seems that negotiations between Lucas Neill and West Ham are not progressing very quickly. Neill's agent claims that Neill has always stated that he wants to stay at West Ham but that other clubs are interested in the defender.

Neill it seems feels that West Ham's current offer needs to be bettered and, according to his agent, "it is up to the club administration to execute that."

West Ham, on the other hand, say an offer was put on the table and it is "still there for him to accept."

Monday, July 06, 2009

Fortune's Always Hiding

The Telegraph claim that West Ham face competition from Portsmouth in trying to sign Marc-Antoine Fortune. The Herald seem to think West Ham have more than just Portsmouth to worry about. They say that Celtic, Hull, West Ham and Fulham will learn on Tuesday who has won the race to sign the £3.8m Nancy striker.

The Times says the Hammers have been offered Bergougnoux, the Toulouse midfield player who has been the subject of an offer from Kayserispor, of Turkey.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Gabbidon in Action

The official West Ham website report that Danny Gabbidon has played his first game in 18 months. Gabbidon played for just over an hour in a charity match in Cardiff. Speaking to the BBC, Gabbidon said,

"My boots are a bit tight as they haven't been worn for so long. It's great to have a run out with some old mates before pre-season starts on Monday.

"I'm fit and ready for pre-season and hopefully I'll make a few appearances for West Ham and Wales this season."

Gabbidon is set to report back for first-team training this week and will now be looking to feature in next Sunday's friendly away to Grays Athletic.

Friday, July 03, 2009

Neill Back in Talks

Everything seems to have gone very quiet on the Mancini talks. However Sky Sports are reporting that Lucas Neill is back in discussions with the club. They say Neill is considering re-signing for West Ham.

Does this mean that Neill has been unable to get any other club to match what he was earning at West Ham and has settled for a pay cut?

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Ashton to Stoke Back On?

The Daily Mail have chosen to ignore Scot Duxbury's comment last week denying that Dean Ashton was being sold to Stoke. Duxbury said to KUMB,

"No. I'm not selling him (Ashton) to Stoke and Dean Ashton is not £10million in any way. I want Dean Ashton here, I want him fit, I want him playing and it'll be nice to see him. So he is not being sold."

That really couldn't be any more clear. Stoke Chairman Peter Coates has also gone on record that the club have made no formal approach for Ashton.

However today's Daily Mail claim that the deal is back on, "after both sides moved to reach a compromise over the England striker’s personal terms." So the Daily Mail have chosen not to believe Duxbury, they also think that West Ham can somehow come to a compromise on how much a player (Ashton) should be willing to be paid by another club (weird).

The Mail claim that Stoke couldn't match Aston's £65,000-a-week contract at West Ham but have now come up with a better offer.